OK.. So I have stirred up a bit of a hornet’s nest here… But hey the last time I looked it said it was a discussion forum…
At least one person on this forum have the view that crashed warbirds that have been involved in fatal accidents should be crushed and buried.. I actually do not agree with this viewpoint.. but I respect his opinion…
Someone I know and respect will never now sit in PV202 ever…. again I do not follow that view point.. but I admire his stance….
I for one do not have a problem with HRL anyone else rebuilding flyers, statics whatever, where someone or some people have died in… I would love to see Bluebird K-7 on Coniston Water driven by Gina Campbell…
The problem is as more and more ‘raw material’ is becoming less available in large amounts.. you have to work with smaller bits and pieces… bits that 10 years ago would have been considered unworkable… or bits from crashed aircraft (fatal or not) It is the skill of HRL (and others) that these pieces will become flyable after a period of hard work and time..
In fact a Spitfire historian made the point about raw material fatal accidents this area a few years back in a Spitfire article.. and IIRC asked for a debate about this very subject…
I think setters point is excellent, if you are doing it.. get the ok from those closely affected and wait 5, 10 or ? years before rebuilding it..
However, what I think is missing in this whole area is clarity…. I do not know why HRL decided to start calling PV202.. IAC 161 – but I would imagine a few people would have a guess… also why is PL983 listed only ‘as a rare PRIX’ in the article.. When everyone reading about it will immediately start speculating on the ID and asking on this very forum…. I know I did and I asked an expert in the field the same day and he told me the ID.
The point (the only one) I was trying to make, and still am.. is that once you rebuild one fatal accident warbird to fly… then you have crossed some line. making it more likely that you will build another one in the future, and I have no doubt that there was agonising in HRL over PL983 as well.. perhaps my fault is that I did not spend more time making trying to make this clearer..
..but then again.. perhaps.. if I am in hole.. I should have stopped digging..
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